Published plans and annual reports 2025–2026: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Ministry overview

To protect Ontario communities, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) is leading initiatives to encourage dynamic and effective municipal governments and make it easier and faster to get shovels in the ground on new homes, businesses and infrastructure, which encourages new investment, creates jobs and increases Ontario’s economic competitiveness. The ministry also leads initiatives and programs to support all Ontario residents having access to housing that meets their diverse needs.

Ministry vision

The ministry is working with local governments and partners across Ontario to build safe, strong and sustainable communities with dynamic local economies, a high quality of life for residents, and homes that meet people’s diverse needs. This includes:

• providing funding under the Building Faster Fund to eligible municipalities, which can be used towards housing-enabling and community-enabling infrastructure and other related projects that support community growth
• supporting the implementation of changes to development charges, community benefits charges and parkland dedication frameworks to support efforts to increase housing supply
• advancing provincial interests and supporting municipal implementation of land use planning through a variety of legislative tools, and a coordinated inter-ministry one-window planning approach for provincial decisions
• developing guidance materials, both within MMAH and in collaboration with partner ministries, to support the implementation of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024
• collaborating with other governments on standardized housing designs for low-rise residential housing types
• supporting the Minister in the making of Minister’s Zoning Orders for priority initiatives, such as long-term care homes and major economic development projects.
• prioritizing and supporting Canadian-based builders and designers by removing obstacles, and bolstering home-grown innovations
• releasing the new edition of the Building Code, which came into effect on January 1, 2025
• developing technical guides to support consistent implementation of Ontario’s Building Code in priority areas such as housing affordability and supply
• cutting red tape to streamline the building process, enhance public health and safety, ensure consistent standards, further align with national construction codes, increase housing supply, improve interprovincial trade, and labour mobility
• continuing to assess municipal capacity to manage finances, deliver services and provide good governance
• continuing to gather data and local intelligence about municipal issues, challenges, and best practices to inform future provincial policy development and program design
• connecting municipalities to partner ministry programs and tools to support local economic recovery and economic development
• encouraging and fostering collaboration, consultation and active engagement between ministries and the municipal sector to ensure there is a strong relationship between the province and municipalities
• leading the expansion of the strong mayor powers in designated municipalities to help them deliver on shared provincial-municipal priorities
• implementing and supporting government decision-making on transferring some services that are currently provided by Peel Region to lower tier municipalities
• exploring potential options to establish a new service delivery model (that maintains public ownership) for water/wastewater services
• monitoring local implementation of the municipal code of conduct framework and exploring opportunities to help ensure that municipal workplaces are safe and respectful

MMAH is also leading initiatives that help care for people, including our most vulnerable. This includes:

• continuing to administer funding under the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative and Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit programs
• continuing to help local service managers prevent and address homelessness in their communities through the delivery of the Homelessness Prevention Program
• continuing to support Indigenous program administrators in the delivery of the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program
• continuing to provide funding – contingent on federal funding to support shelter needs of asylum claimants and refugees – to the City of Toronto and the City Ottawa through their respective New Deals to address the unique pressures and challenges each city faces with respect to their shelter systems and homelessness supports
• leading Ontario’s bilateral and multilateral housing activities with provincial, territorial and federal governments, including negotiations for the future of the National Housing Strategy beyond the current Canada-Ontario agreement
• helping to stabilize the community housing system for those who live and work in it by continuing to support the implementation of the new community housing framework that came into full effect in 2023
• continuing to collaborate with partner ministries to make further progress on initiatives to improve supportive housing in Ontario
• developing and implementing measures for preventing, addressing, and reducing homelessness, including chronic homelessness
• advancing initiatives to help more people in Ontario realize their dream of home ownership
• responding to emergencies/disasters and delivering the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians and Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance programs to help people and municipalities recover after a natural disaster
• engaging with other governments to modernize Canada’s approach to managing the financial impacts of natural disasters

Mandate

The goals of the ministry are to provide leadership to help ensure communities are served by strong, efficient local governments and that people in Ontario have access to housing that meets their needs. To achieve these goals, MMAH:

• ensures that appropriate land-use planning policies are in place to support growth throughout the province, increase housing supply and respond to market needs, while recognizing that one size does not fit all
• develops, implements and administers policies and programs that support community, supportive, and market housing supply, which includes residential and commercial tenancy regulation, community housing regulation and homelessness prevention programs
• develops, coordinates and implements Ontario government policies and programs that support municipalities
• leads the provincial-municipal relationship with municipal stakeholders including the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the City of Toronto as well as provincial-business relationships with key growth partners
• supports Ontario’s federal-provincial-municipal relationships

MMAH also develops and administers policies and programs in support of municipal administration, governance, and finance; infrastructure improvement; municipal and provincial land use planning; growth management; building regulation; and disaster recovery and mitigation.

Ministry programs

The ministry is responsible for the following programs:

Housing Policy and Planning

The program leads the development and coordination of cross-government strategies, legislation, policy, and programs that support a continuum of housing options, from emergency shelters to market rental and home ownership. The program also engages in a number of activities to support the development, monitoring and administration of legislative and policy frameworks, including:

Market Housing

The ministry collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders, including municipal and federal governments, the private sector and not-for-profits to develop policies, programs and initiatives that help increase housing supply and affordability, and support the Province’s goal of building the homes that Ontarians need.

The ministry’s work in this area includes:

• development and coordination of evidence-based market housing policies and programs, such as those that:
  • remove barriers and reduce costs and time to build housing
  • make homebuying and renting in Ontario easier, fairer and more transparent
  • provide Ontarians with a wide mix of housing types and options, including market rental and home ownership
• development, facilitation and implementation of funding supports and other tools to help municipalities meet their housing pledges and commitments, including the $1.2 billion Building Faster Fund
• incorporation of housing outcomes when the province considers the sale or lease of surplus lands (e.g., evaluating whether it may be used for below market housing)
• exploration of innovative and factory-built housing construction methods, to reduce delays and costs through internal and external stakeholder engagement related to market rental and home ownership.

Residential Tenancies

The ministry also sets the legislative and policy framework for both residential and commercial landlords and tenants through the:

• Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), which governs rental housing in Ontario and sets rules in areas such as rent, security of tenure and the adjudication of disputes. This includes supporting the ministry’s provision of investigation and enforcement services for alleged offences under the RTA through the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit
• Commercial Tenancies Act (CTA), which sets out rules for commercial tenancies to enable businesses to operate effectively.

Community Housing Policy

Community Housing Policy includes both social and affordable housing that is owned and operated primarily by non-profit housing corporations, housing co-operatives and municipal governments or district social services administration boards. These providers offer subsidized or low-end-of market rents. This includes approximately 181,740 households^{footnote 1[1]} that rely on deeply subsidized rental housing to maintain housing stability (social housing that provides rent-geared-to-income (RGI) assistance) as well as approximately 55,260 households^{footnote 2[2]} that live in affordable rental housing.

The ministry’s Community Housing Renewal Strategy outlines a provincial plan to work with partners to stabilize and grow the community housing sector. Further details on the administration of funding programs related to community housing can be found in the Municipal and Housing Operations (MHOD) section.

Homelessness and Supportive Housing Policy

Homelessness and Supportive Housing Policy includes the development of coordinated homelessness policies and policy development work on supportive housing in Ontario.

Key work in this area includes:

• developing and ongoing monitoring of policies and legislation aimed at preventing, addressing, and reducing homelessness, including chronic homelessness (i.e., homeless for six months or more in the past year)
• collaborating with partner ministries to identify and advance initiatives to enhance supportive housing (which combines long-term housing assistance, such as rent supplements and housing allowances, with individualized, flexible, and ongoing support services such as counselling, life skills training, activities of daily living, behaviour supports to help people live as independently as possible in their communities)
• working across divisions within the ministry and with partner ministries to support the implementation and delivery of housing and homelessness initiatives
• leading engagements with housing sector stakeholders
• working collaboratively with key housing stakeholders, and with federal and municipal orders of government, to develop housing and homelessness policies that support strong and healthy communities

Please refer to the Municipal Housing and Operations Division (MHOD) section for further details on the administration of funding programs for homelessness and supportive housing.

Data and Analytics

Key priorities for Data and Analytics include providing ministry-wide leadership on analytics and reporting, data policy, strategy and governance, in addition to data solutions and infrastructure. This includes:

• Becoming the internal data and analytics Centre of Excellence at the ministry
• Working collaboratively across the ministry to grow and evolve its data and analytics capacity across other policy and program areas
• Developing and implementing a ministry-wide data strategy

Ongoing data and analytics support for MMAH’s housing and homelessness programs will continue to be provided by:

• Collecting, analyzing and reporting on data (for example, enhanced reporting in support of tracking progress towards outcomes of the National Housing Strategy)
• Coordinating data procurement and implementing new data collection
• Conducting evaluation, monitoring and performance measurement; developing data solutions and providing data management
• Training, support and customer service for users of Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON) for MMAH housing and homeless programs
• Providing TPON maintenance, enhancements and new program onboarding for MMAH housing and homelessness programs

Land Use Planning Policy

Land Use Planning Policy includes developing, monitoring and administering Ontario’s land use planning system. The provincial land use planning framework has evolved significantly over time and is regularly subject to legislative and policy reviews to ensure that it reflects current provincial priorities for managing growth, protecting resources (e.g., water, agriculture, natural heritage), and protecting public health and safety. The framework includes the Planning Act and associated regulations. It also includes policy statements issued under that legislation – the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 (a set of provincial directions that municipal planners, planning boards, and decision makers follow for land-use planning and development in Ontario), along with other related legislation, policies and provincial plans such as the Greenbelt Plan (under the Greenbelt Act, 2005), the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (under the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001), and the Parkway Belt West Plan (under the Ontario Planning and Development Act, 1994).

Ontario’s land use planning system advances and upholds provincial interests through a policy-led system. The system is established by the province and is largely implemented by municipalities through local planning documents (e.g., official plans and zoning by-laws) and through the ministry’s one-window provincial land use planning approvals service. In addition, Minister’s Zoning Orders, made by the Minister of MMAH under the Planning Act can permit or prohibit the use of land, and regulate the location, use, height, size and spacing of buildings and structures (similar to local zoning by-laws), are used to streamline zoning approvals for priority initiatives/projects. The ministry provides a variety of mandatory and discretionary tools to support municipal implementation of the provincial land use planning framework at a local level.

Building Regulation

The ministry establishes the policies, technical supports and regulatory system governing the construction, renovation, changes of use and demolition of buildings through administration of the Building Code Act and the Building Code regulation.

Municipal and Housing Operations

The objectives of this program are to build strong local governments; promote well-planned, safe, complete, and thriving communities; and increase the supply of housing including through direct engagement with municipal clients and housing service providers. The program engages in a number of activities related to this including:

Community Housing Operations

Community Housing Operations includes social and affordable housing that is owned and operated primarily by non-profit housing corporations, housing co-operatives and municipal governments or district social services administration boards. These providers offer subsidized or low-end-of market rents.

Under the National Housing Strategy (NHS) Community Housing initiatives, municipal Service Managers and Indigenous Program Administrators use funding to protect, renew and expand community housing; support Ontario’s priorities related to housing repair, construction and affordability; and deliver direct affordability support to Ontarians who need housing. For example, the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI), one of the programs under the NHS, aims to protect affordability for households in social housing, to support the repair and renewal of existing social housing supply, and to expand the supply of community housing over time.

Service Managers also receive funding under the Canada-Ontario Social Housing Agreement (SHA). The SHA provides federal funding to replace the prior federal share of social housing costs that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) would have incurred for federal/provincial agreements and federal unilateral projects. Between 2018–19 and 2032–33, which is the final year of the SHA federal funding, federal funding decreases as projects’ mortgages/debentures mature or original operating agreements expire, thereby resulting in a scheduled annual decline in federal funding. This funding has since been replaced by additional federal funding under the National Housing Strategy, through the Canada Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI).

Community Housing also encompasses funding through the Indigenous and Community Housing Initiative, which includes the Rural and Urban Indigenous Housing Program (RUIHP), and provincial affordability payments under the Affordable Housing Program Agreement.

Homelessness Support Operations

Homelessness Support Operations includes the administration of operating and capital funding to municipal Service Managers under the Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP), to Indigenous Program Administrators under the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program (ISHP), and affordability payments under the legacy program - Home for Good. These programs support Service Managers and Indigenous Program Administrators to help people who are homeless and at risk of homelessness become stably housed or avoid/reduce chronic homelessness and homelessness following transitions from provincially funded institutions and service systems (e.g. hospitals and prisons).

Service Managers and Indigenous Program Administrators use funding under these programs to:

• Operate, build and repair supportive and transitional housing
• Operate, build and repair emergency shelters (through HPP)
• Fund homelessness prevention services and supports such as rent supplements, emergency financial assistance and landlord outreach and mediation
• Provide other services and supports such as providing street outreach, coordinating case management, etc.
• Support the creation and renewal of supportive housing through capital funding which is provided at specific milestones through the construction phase of the projects
• Maintain By-Name Lists to obtain real-time data about people experiencing homelessness in each service manager area and their needs (HPP)

In addition, Service Managers also use program funding to:

Disaster Recovery Financial Assistance

Disaster Recovery Financial Assistance includes delivery of disaster recovery transfer payment programs, manages the ministry’s legislated emergency management program and represents Ontario’s interests in discussions on disaster recovery funding with federal, provincial and territorial counterparts.

Municipal Governance

The Municipal Governance program supports municipalities to deliver services and infrastructure that are effective and have a positive impact on the day-to-day lives of the people of Ontario.

Land Use Planning Operations

Land Use Planning Operations leads the province’s One Window Planning Service for the review and approval of municipal official plans; official plan amendments; amendments to existing provincial plans such as the Parkway Belt West Plan and the Pickering Minister’s Zoning Order; and land division applications where the province is the approval authority. The function also leads reviews, and where appropriate makes recommendations for Minister’s consideration of requests for new Minister’s Zoning Orders and amendments to or revocations of existing Orders informed by the ministry’s Zoning Order Framework. The area works closely with partner ministries, stakeholders, and Indigenous communities on building capacity and facilitating solutions to implement the province’s land use planning framework and interests. The function leads appeals related to provincial land use planning interests at the Ontario Land Tribunal as well as in the judicial system to protect the province’s land use planning interests.

Local Government

This program supports local governments to deliver effective services and infrastructure that have a positive impact on the day-to-day lives of the people of Ontario.

Through this program, the ministry provides a legislative, regulatory and programmatic framework to build municipal capacity, including effective municipal governance; accountability; transparency; and municipal elections. The program also enables municipal partners to build prosperous and financially sustainable communities that are able to invest in infrastructure and deliver services.

The ministry, in collaboration with other provincial ministries, works directly with municipalities, municipal associations and other partners to help build and maintain a strong relationship between the province and municipalities. This includes ensuring the municipal perspective and impacts of government initiatives are understood and inform the province’s work.

The ministry engages the federal government on housing and homelessness programs (e.g., the National Housing Strategy (NHS)), and fosters intergovernmental relationships, including co-operating on housing, and implements strategic direction and policies.

2025–26 Strategic plan

MMAH will continue to deliver on an ambitious mandate to support the government’s commitment to protect Ontario in the face of economic uncertainty by getting shovels in the ground sooner on priority projects, including the local infrastructure needed to make way for new homes. The ministry will also work with partners across government and the province to help prevent homelessness and support the most vulnerable members of our society through longer-term housing solutions. MMAH will continue working with municipalities to ensure they have the tools and resources needed to deliver high quality services, encourage economic growth, and build safe, strong and sustainable urban and rural communities.

In 2025–26, the ministry plans to undertake the following key activities related to:

Market Housing

• Continue implementing the Building Faster Fund, a three-year, $1.2 billion program designed to reward municipalities that help address the housing supply crisis by meeting or exceeding their provincially assigned housing targets. Funding can support housing-enabling infrastructure such as site servicing, roads, and public utilities to increase housing supply and community building. Affordable housing projects – including purpose-built rental housing and capital expenditures for homelessness services and supports – are also eligible for these funds.
• Build on the success from past provincial land sales and leases to support affordable housing by developing a new attainable housing program to help more people in Ontario realize their dream of home ownership. This will be done in collaboration with partner ministries, other stakeholders and Infrastructure Ontario. Attainable housing will be delivered as demonstration sites on surplus provincial lands and municipally identified lands, as well as leveraging factory-built manufacturing where feasible.
• Provide leadership, work with other ministries and participate with key government and housing stakeholders to conduct housing market research and analysis, represent Ontario in federal/provincial/territorial tables, and develop evidence-based market housing policies and programs.

Intended outcome: Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

In Increased supply and appropriate mix of affordable and adequate housing

Indicator: Cumulative count of new residential housing units built over the period of 2022–2031 to measure progress against the government's target of building at least 1.5 million homes by 2031

Target value: 1,500,000

Target date: 12–31–2031

Programs that contribute to the KPI result:

• Municipal and Housing Operations program
• Housing Policy and Planning program

Community Housing

• Continue to support the implementation of the new community housing framework (announced on March 30, 2022 with all changes effective July 1, 2023) by working with sector partners to develop guidance materials and negotiate service agreements, which aim to stabilize the community housing system, protect vital housing supply and encourage providers to remain in the system and continue offering deeply affordable rents to tens of thousands of Ontario households.
• Review the current policy direction to guide local housing and homelessness plans to ensure local plans align with government priorities.
• Explore new opportunities to incentivize and reduce burdens for the community housing sector to maintain and increase new supply.
• Continue to administer federal funding under COCHI and federal and provincial funding under the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) and the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB):
  • Together the COCHI and OPHI programs help build, create, and renovate community housing, provide homeownership opportunities, and improve housing affordability.
  • The COHB program provides a portable housing benefit to improve housing affordability and gives priority to survivors of domestic violence, survivors of human trafficking, persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness, Indigenous persons, seniors, people with disabilities, and young adults (including those leaving the child welfare system).
    • Includes additional dedicated funding under COHB for survivors of gender-based violence.
• Continue to deliver other existing transfer payment programs, including:
  • Payments to Service Managers under the Canada-Ontario Social Housing Agreement and provincial affordability payments under the Affordable Housing Program, which will continue until 2033.
  • Indigenous and Community Housing Initiatives, including the Rural and Urban Indigenous Housing Program (RUIHP).
    • RUIHP provides access to rent-geared-to-income housing for Indigenous and non-Indigenous households in core/deep core housing need, in urban and rural areas of Ontario, affordable housing and affordable housing assistance to Indigenous and non-Indigenous households and supports to sustain Community Housing in the long-term. Following the completion of a program review in 2024–25, the ministry renewed the program and increased its funding for a three-year period (to March 31, 2028).

Intended outcome: Key Performance Indicator

People have improved access to affordable housing and supports that meet their needs to achieve housing stability

Indicator: Increased per cent of Ontario households assisted in community housing.

Target value: 6.01 (5–Year Target)

Target date: 04–01–2023 (and ongoing)

Programs that contribute to the KPI result:

• Municipal and Housing Operations
• Housing Policy and Planning

Homelessness and Supportive Housing

• Continue to collaborate with the ministries of Children, Community and Social Services and Health, to make further progress on initiatives to improve supportive housing in Ontario that address key areas such as:
  • Supply: Protect, grow and improve the supply of supportive housing, including physical units as well as the availability of financial assistance and support services.
  • Access: Better match people to the right housing and supports based on their needs.
  • Efficiency: Use current resources more efficiently to maximize impact for people.
  • People with complex needs: Better support people who require support from multiple systems.
• Continue policy development work to support the implementation of Ontario’s Third National Housing Strategy Action Plan.
• Continue to provide policy guidance and evaluation of the By-Name List (a real-time list of people experiencing homelessness in a community) requirements and guidelines for Service Managers and analyze the resulting data received by the province.
• Explore new potential measures for preventing, addressing, and reducing homelessness, including chronic homelessness.
• Continue to help Service Managers prevent and address homelessness in their communities through the delivery of the Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP). Through the HPP, Service Managers have flexibility to target funding where it is needed the most, including to capital expenses, to assist those experiencing, or at risk of homelessness.
• Continue to support Indigenous Program Administrators in the delivery of the Indigenous Supportive Housing Program (ISHP). The ISHP is specifically designed to be administered by Indigenous organizations and helps Indigenous people experiencing homelessness to access housing assistance and supports to become stably housed. It includes $10 million in annual Mental Health and Addictions funding to provide Indigenous led, culturally appropriate long-term housing solutions and support services to Indigenous people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, through the Roadmap to Wellness: A Plan to Build Ontario’s Mental Health and Addictions System.
• Continue to provide funding – contingent on federal funding to support shelter needs of asylum claimants and refugees – to the City of Toronto and the City Ottawa through their respective New Deals to address the unique pressures and challenges each city faces with respect to their shelter systems and homelessness supports.

Land Use Planning Policy

• Support the Minister in the making of Minister’s Zoning Orders for priority initiatives, long-term care homes and major economic development projects, and support the Ministry of Infrastructure in facilitating their minister’s new authority to make MZOs for designated transit-oriented community projects.
• Advance provincial interests and support municipal implementation of land use planning through a variety of legislative tools, and a coordinated inter-ministry one-window planning approach for provincial decisions. This will include ongoing work related to the review and approval of upper (region or county), single-tier and now certain lower-tier municipal official plans and official plan amendments (Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York).
• Continue to provide technical support and guidance to municipalities and partner ministries with responsibilities in land use planning to support municipal implementation of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 issued under the Planning Act, and changes to the Planning Act.
• Develop guidance materials, both within MMAH and in collaboration with partner ministries, to support the implementation of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024. For example, the ministry would develop guidance on how to use the Ministry of Finance population projections to determine municipal population and employment forecasts and associated land needs. It would also consider developing guidance in partnership with partner ministries to support implementation of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 policies that reflect their mandates and land use planning interests.
• Collaborate with the federal government, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the province of British Columbia on standardized housing designs for low-rise residential housing types and consider ways to fast-track approvals under the Planning Act.
• Work with partner ministries on development of a streamlined planning approvals process for community service facilities, beginning with Kindergarten to Grade 12 public schools in 2024.
• Continue to support partner ministries as they undertake policy and program work with land use planning connections, including:
  • the Ministry of Transportation’s Transit-supportive guidelines updates and regional transportation planning
  • the Ministry of Energy’s Long-Term energy procurement
  • the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks’ Environmental Assessment and Environmental Compliance Approvals modernization.
• Continue to support the implementation of the Minister’s Municipal Planning Data Reporting regulation that requires specific municipalities in Ontario to report information on planning matters. Through this regulation, the ministry collects information on planning matters that provides empirical evidence to support the development of housing and planning policy. This provides the necessary data to track the government’s commitment to build the homes that Ontarians need and enables the ministry to monitor trends and patterns over time.
• Work in partnership with the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement to explore solutions to enhance standardization, transparency, and accessibility in tracking municipal data on land use planning, building code and building code permits. This includes leveraging technology, such as artificial intelligence, to improve efficiency in planning and permitting processes. This would make it faster and easier to track this kind of data.
• Advance and uphold provincial interests and support municipal implementation of land use planning through the coordinated inter-ministry One Window Planning approach for provincial decisions. In addition to a range of planning matters, this also includes ongoing work related to the review and approval of upper and single-tier municipal official plans and official plan amendments. Since proclamation of relevant sections of the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, the ministry has become the approval authority for over 50 lower-tier municipal official plans and official plan amendments in the specified upper-tier municipalities of Durham, Halton, Niagara, Peel, Waterloo and York municipalities.
• Renew the inter-ministry One Window Planning protocol and advance the procurement of a new case management system to support more efficient delivery of provincial land use planning services.

Building Regulation

• Respond to US tariffs by collaborating with the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction to prioritize and support Canadian-based builders and designers, removing obstacles, and bolstering home-grown innovations in the Canadian building sector through legislative and regulatory changes.
• Conduct ministry-specific work to cut red tape, streamline the building process, enhance public health and safety, ensure consistent standards, further align with national construction codes, increase housing supply, and improve interprovincial trade and labour mobility through regulatory changes.
• Provide policy and technical support on the Building Code Act, 1992 and Building Code, the Building Code Commission, the Building Materials Evaluation Commission, and the building and development process to promote increased compliance with Building Code requirements and efficient design and construction processes.
• Lead an interprovincial working group comprised of seven provinces to better align the qualification and registration frameworks for building officials across Canada to support increased labour mobility and increased consistency of code compliance. This includes activities where the ministry will:
• Develop technical guides to support consistent implementation of Ontario’s Building Code and priority areas such as housing affordability and supply.
• Identify potential improvements to accessibility standards for the National and Ontario Building Codes in response to the recommendations from the Design of Public Spaces Standards Development Committee under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.
• Support a multi-sectoral working group that has been established to provide advice to the government over the next year about potential Building Code amendments. These amendments are needed to allow certain temporary alternative health facilities and shelters that were established during the pandemic in non-traditional buildings to continue to operate while new, permanent facilities are constructed.
• Respond to issues as they arise, when identified by relevant industry stakeholders on streamlining approvals for factory-built housing.
• Develop service improvements to enhance the ministry’s qualification program for building practitioners by: supporting building practitioners in their use of the ministry’s modernized Qualification and Registration Tracking System; assessing examination questions to better align with the requirements of Ontario’s Building Code; and partnering with Humber Polytechnic and George Brown College to enhance data collection and sharing in support of their delivery and examination of Building Code knowledge.
• Updating the Building Code examination question bank to reflect changes from the 2012 Building Code to the new edition of the Building Code and make changes to the questions to align with modern best practices for question development and knowledge-based testing.

Disaster Recovery Financial Assistance

• Respond to emergencies/disasters and deliver the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians and Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance programs to help people and municipalities recover after a natural disaster.
• Maintain a Ministry Emergency Management Program in full compliance with legislated requirements.
• Engage with the federal government and provincial/territorial counterparts to modernize Canada’s approach to managing the financial impacts of natural disasters, including discussions on implementation of changes to the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements and flood insurance.

Municipal Governance

• Continue to assess municipal capacity to manage finances and to deliver services and good governance. Identify those municipalities that require support and deliver targeted and sector-wide capacity building as required, including targeted support for municipalities facing governance or financial challenges.
• Monitor municipalities for the effects of tariffs and trade and tariff response plans including changes to procurement practices.
• Continue to gather data and local intelligence about municipal issues, challenges, and best practices to inform future provincial policy development and program design.
• Connect municipalities to partner ministry programs and tools to support local economic development and service provision. Participate in the delivery of partner ministry grant application review for infrastructure and economic development funding.
• Deliver a comprehensive, communication, training and data gathering program to support the 2026 municipal election cycle, including pre-election training for municipal clerks and election candidates/third party advertisers, and training for new councils after the election.
• Support the consultation on legislation related to Bill 9, Municipal Accountability Act, 2025 and, should it pass, support implementation and sector training.
• Provide internal and external capacity building related to the implementation of strong mayor’s authorities in 170 new municipalities.

Intended outcome: Key Performance Indicator

Municipalities are financially sustainable

Indicator: Financial Resources Available to Pay for Known Financial Commitments

Target value: 75% annually

Target date: 03–31–2023 (and ongoing)

Programs that contribute to the KPI result:

• Local Government
• Municipal and Housing Operations

Local Government

• Continue actively engaging municipalities through the Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Toronto-Ontario Co-operation and Consultation Agreement and by participating in municipal association conferences and meetings.
• Encourage and foster collaboration, consultation and engagement between partner ministries and the municipal sector to ensure there is a strong relationship between the province and municipalities. This includes working with and supporting ministries by identifying municipal considerations and potential impacts.
• Support the implementation of changes to development charges, community benefits charges and parkland dedication frameworks, which are designed to support the government’s efforts to increase housing supply.
• Lead the expansion of the strong mayor powers in designated municipalities to help them deliver on shared provincial-municipal priorities.
• Lead the implementation and support government decision-making on transferring services that are currently provided by the Region of Peel, specifically: water and wastewater, regional roads (including associated stormwater infrastructure) and waste management; building on the work of the Peel Region Transition Board.
• Explore potential options to establish a new service delivery model (that maintains public ownership) for water/wastewater services.
• Support the Special Advisor to complete a third-party governance review of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS) to ensure that its governance model is serving the interests of plan members in a fair, equitable, and transparent manner that supports the plan's long-term financial sustainability.
• Undertake consultations on approaches to streamline the development of communal water and wastewater systems and proponent funded modular “off-grid” water treatment facilities and support their greater adoption, where appropriate.
• Lead the development and implementation of a strengthened municipal code of conduct framework in response to recommendations from the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario.
• Lead Ontario’s bilateral and multilateral housing activities with provincial, territorial and federal governments, including negotiations for the future of the National Housing Strategy beyond the current Canada-Ontario NHS bilateral agreement, which expires in March 2028.
• Assume the two-year rotational chair of the Provincial Territorial Housing Forum and co-chair the Federal Provincial Territorial (FPT) Housing Forum (with Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada) to leverage consensus-based multilateral approaches to FPT housing issues and challenges. This includes extending the three provincially delivered NHS initiatives beyond their current March 31, 2028, expiration and, potentially, other legacy housing programs (i.e. Investment in Affordable Housing, Social Housing Agreement).

Detailed financial information

Chart 1: Investment by vote 2024–25 ($)

Table 2: Combined operating and capital summary by vote

Note: Estimates, Interim Actuals and Actuals for prior fiscal years are re-stated to reflect any changes in ministry organization and/or program structure. Interim actuals reflect the numbers presented in the 2025 Ontario Budget.

Note: Estimates, Interim Actuals and Actuals for prior fiscal years are re-stated to reflect any changes in ministry organization and/or program structure. Interim actuals reflect the numbers presented in the 2025 Ontario Budget.

Note: Estimates, Interim Actuals and Actuals for prior fiscal years are re-stated to reflect any changes in ministry organization and/or program structure. Interim actuals reflect the numbers presented in the 2025 Ontario Budget.

Note: Estimates, Interim Actuals and Actuals for prior fiscal years are re-stated to reflect any changes in ministry organization and/or program structure. Interim actuals reflect the numbers presented in the 2025 Ontario Budget.

Note: Estimates and Actuals for prior fiscal years are re-stated to reflect any changes in ministry organization and/or program structure.

Agencies, Boards and Commissions (ABCs)

The following provincial agencies report to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Building Code Commission

The Building Code Commission (BCC) is an adjudicative agency that resolves disputes on the technical requirements of Ontario’s Building Code. Ministry staff provide all administrative and technical support. The operating expenses for this commission are paid out of Housing Policy and Planning (Vote 1908).

Notes:

• Expenditure Estimates are based on an estimated application rate (using historical data and projecting forward) that determines the number of hearings, member per diem remuneration rates and other operating expenses. Member per diem remuneration rates are established by the Management Board of Cabinet’s Agencies and Appointments Directive applying to part-time Order in Council-appointed members.

  Operating expenses cover costs associated with hearings, administration, per diems for BCC members and reimbursement for out-of-pocket travel expenses related to hearings. These include hotel accommodations, meal allowances, parking and public transit in accordance with the Management Board of Cabinet’s Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive. Note that ministry staff support costs are not reflected in the table above.

• Estimated revenues are based on an average of 35 applications per year and the fee in effect at the start of the fiscal year. Effective January 1, 2023, the application fee is $212.
• The 2024–25 Interim Actuals for expenditures and revenues reflect the 2024–25 Estimates.
• Due to the use of remote hearings/meetings and reduced number of in-person hearings/meetings, travel expenditures were significantly reduced.

Building Materials Evaluation Commission

The Building Materials Evaluation Commission (BMEC) is a regulatory agency that evaluates and authorizes innovative construction materials, systems or building designs where no criteria are set out in Ontario’s Building Code. Ministry staff provide all administrative and technical support. The operating expenses for this commission are paid out of Housing Policy and Planning (Vote 1908).

Notes:

• Expenditure Estimates are based on an estimated application rate (using historical data and projecting forward) that determines the number of meetings, member per diem remuneration rates and other operating expenses. Member per diem remuneration rates are established by the Management Board of Cabinet’s Agencies and Appointments Directive applying to part-time Order in Council-appointed members.

  Operating expenses cover costs associated with meetings, administration, per diems for BMEC members and reimbursement for out-of-pocket travel expenses related to meetings. These include hotel accommodations, meal allowances, parking and public transit in accordance with the Management Board of Cabinet’s Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive. Note that ministry staff support costs are not reflected in the table above.

• Effective January 1, 2018, the fee for applying to the BMEC was set at $11,000. Revenue Estimates are based on receiving six Commission applications per year based on the last Building Code cycle. The Ministry is exploring opportunities to provide preferential treatment for Canadian manufacturers, such as possibly eliminating the $11,000 BMEC application fee. If implemented, this change is expected to result in a revenue loss of approximately 65%, reducing the total annual revenue by $0.04M.
• The 2024–25 Interim Actuals for expenditures and revenues reflect the 2024–25 Estimates.
• Due to the use of remote meetings and reduced number of in-person meetings, travel-related expenditures were significantly reduced.

Greenbelt Council

The Greenbelt Council is an advisory agency, established under the Greenbelt Act, that provides the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing with advice. This advice includes land use planning matters within and adjacent to the area defined as the Greenbelt Area, implementation of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, Niagara Escarpment Plan, performance monitoring, ten-year reviews, land use planning, and public education and outreach to ensure the objectives of the Greenbelt Plan are met.

Notes:

• Expenditure Estimates and Expenditure Actuals include the following related to the Greenbelt Council and its members:
  • Effective March 2018, council members are remunerated for time spent engaged in their duties, such as participating in meetings, in the form of per diems that are established by Order in Council 469/2018. Operating expenses also include any member reimbursement for out-of-pocket travel-related expenses incurred in carrying out their duties (e.g., meals, public transit, and parking), in accordance with the Management Board of Cabinet’s Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive.
  • Ministry staff provide administrative support to the Greenbelt Council Operating expenses, and other administrative expenses as needed, for the Greenbelt Council are paid out of the Housing Policy and Planning (Vote 1908).
  • The 2025–26 Expenditure Estimates assumes there may be a role for the Greenbelt Council in the ten-year review of the Greenbelt Plan, of which the review is a legislative responsibility to begin in 2025.
  • The 2024–25 Interim Actuals for expenditures reflect the 2024–25 Estimates.
• The Greenbelt Council does not generate revenue or charge fees.

Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation

The Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation (the “Trust”) is a board-governed agency that manages the sale of houses and associated land leases of approximately 262 properties on provincially owned lands, and the maintenance and use of six community properties for the benefit of the Toronto Islands residents and the public. The provincially owned lands are on Ward’s and Algonquin Islands (part of the Toronto Islands).

The Trust does not receive any funding from the province and is self-sustaining through revenue generated from an annual levy charged to each Island leaseholder, rental income on the community buildings, administrative fees, and fees for Purchasers’ List and draw applications. The Trust’s accounts are separate from those of the ministry and the province. The Trust is responsible for managing its own financial matters, including the completion of an annual financial audit. The audited financial statements are published with its annual report. The members of the Trust’s Board of Directors are not remunerated for their service to the Trust.

Housing Policy Implementation Team

The Housing Policy Implementation Team (HPIT) is an advisory agency established under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Act. The HPIT is comprised of municipal leaders and industry experts who provide advice to the government on matters related to market housing with a focus on measures currently being implemented by the government, as well as future housing policy initiatives, and other issues as identified by the government. Ministry staff provide administrative support to HPIT.

The HPIT was formerly known as the Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team. Note that the renaming of the agency is an administrative change only and the mandate remains the same.

Notes:

• Appointees (members) participate on a voluntary basis and are not eligible for remuneration.
• The agency does not generate revenue or charge fees.

Provincial Land and Development Facilitator

The Provincial Land and Development Facilitator is an advisory agency that was established under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Act. The Provincial Land and Development Facilitator helps the province, municipalities, developers, businesses and community groups resolve issues related to growth management, land use and infrastructure planning, and environmental protection by providing impartial facilitation services or by acting as a negotiator on behalf of the province.

All administrative and technical support to the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator is provided by ministry staff. The operating expenses for this agency are paid out of Municipal and Housing Operations (Vote 1909).

Notes:

• Expenditures include office support costs, remuneration for the appointees on a per diem basis as authorized in the Orders in Council and reimbursement for any travel and accommodation costs related to meetings and advisory activities in accordance with the Management Board of Cabinet’s Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive.

  The 2024–25 Interim Actuals for expenditures reflect the 2024–25 Estimates.

• The agency does not generate revenue or charge fees.

Ministry organization chart

• Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
  • Parliamentary Assistant, Municipal Affairs and Housing
  • Associate Minister of Housing
  • List of Council, Commission and Corporations
    • Provincial Land and Development Facilitator — Dan Mathieson, Chair
    • Building Code Commission — Stephen Wong, Chair
    • Building Materials Evaluation Commission — Leo Grellette, Chair
    • Toronto Islands Residential Community Trust Corporation — Alison Rogers, Chair
    • Greenbelt Council
    • Housing Supply Action Plan Implementation Team — Drew Dilkins, Chair
    • OMERS Government Review — Robert Poirier, Special Advisor
  • Deputy Minister Martha Greenberg
    • Special Projects — Wendy Ren, Director
    • Executive Advisor — Melissa Mobilio
    • Municipal and Housing Operations Division — Sean Fraser, ADM
      • Municipal Services Office Central Region — Tanzeel Merchant, Regional Director
      • Municipal Services Office Central Region – Priority Projects — Bridget Schulte-Hostedde, Director
      • Municipal Programs and Analytics Branch — Helen Collins, Director
      • Housing Programs Branch — Tanisha Lewis, Director
      • Municipal Services Office Western Region — Ian Kerr, Regional Director
      • Municipal Services Office Northern Region — Kathy Horgan, Regional Director
      • Municipal Services Office Eastern Region — Jen Liptrot, Regional Director
    • Local Government Division — Caspar Hall, ADM
      • Municipal Finance Policy Branch — Ruchi Parkash, Director
      • Intergovernmental Relations and Partnerships Branch — Alex Barbieri, Director
      • Local Government Policy Branch — Jasmine Gujral, Director
      • Peel Regional Transition Board Secretariat — Mariam Rashidi, Executive Director
    • Business Management Division — Amanda Lui, CAO/ADM
      • Corporate Services Branch — Alyssa Cates, Director
      • Controllership and Financial Planning Branch — Chris Skubel
      • Human Resources Strategies Branch — Suzana Ristich
      • Community Services Audit Service Branch — Gord Nowlan, Director
    • Housing Policy and Planning Division — David McLean, ADM
      • Provincial Land Use Plans Branch — Anna MacDonald, Director
      • Planning Policy Branch — Laura Evangelista, Director
      • Building and Development Branch — Mansoor Mahmood, Director
      • Community Housing Policy Branch — Dan Lawrence, Director
      • Data and Analytics Branch — Keley Katona, Director
    • Communications Branch — Burke Christian, Director
    • Legal Services Branch — Stephen Lockwood, Director
      • Legal Services Branch — Claire Young, Deputy Director
      • Legal Services Branch — Carolyn Poutiainen, Deputy Director
    • Community Services I&IT Cluster — Rocco Passero, CIO/ADM
      • Strategy & Digital Excellence Branch — Sachin Jain, Director
      • Digital Technology Services Branch — Sanaul Haque, Director
      • Data Product Services Branch — Carm Scarfo, Director
      • Product & Platform Services Branch — Farshad Mahlooji, Director

Notes:

• Community Services Audit Service Branch Director: Dual reporting relationship with CIA, Ontario Internal Audit Division, Treasury Board Secretariat and ADM, BMD administrative purposes
• Communications Branch Director: Dual reporting relationship with the Deputy Minister of Communications, the Associate Secretary of Cabinet and the Deputy Minister of MMAH
• Legal Services Branch Director: Dual reporting relationship with MAG and MMAH (to CAO for administrative purposes; to Deputy for legal services)
• Community Services I&IT Cluster CIO/ADM: Dual reporting relationship with Corporate Chief Information Technology Officer and Deputy Minister of MMAH
• As of March 31, 2025

Appendix: 2024–25 Annual Report

Ministry’s achievements in 2024–25

The ministry had the following key results and achievements in 2024–25:

Housing Policy and Planning

Market Housing

Over the past year, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, as the provincial lead on market housing, and in collaboration with partner ministries, continued its implementation of legislative and policy changes and programs to advance the government’s long-term strategy to address housing supply, support municipalities in getting shovels in the ground, and build the homes that Ontarians need.

In 2024, Ontario tracked progress on increasing housing supply through the Ontario Housing Tracker. This tracks progress against municipal targets and is used to assess performance for funding under the Building Faster Fund (BFF). It showed that across the five sets of data considered in the tracker, Ontario built 94,144 homes in 2024. When considering just new housing starts, activity slowed compared to 2023, with just under 75,000 homes. However, new housing starts remain around 7 per cent higher than the annual average for the last decade. Nearly 18,000 new purpose-built rental housing units started construction in 2024, the second highest level of rental housing starts on record after 2023, when a record of almost 19,000 was set.

In 2024–25, the Building Faster Fund – a three-year $1.2B program that rewards eligible municipalities that make meaningful progress against their provincially-assigned housing targets - began to flow funds. The Building Faster Fund has awarded more than $280 million to municipalities for their performance against their 2023 housing targets.

The ministry also continued to work with Ministry of Infrastructure on implementation of water and road infrastructure projects (the Housing Enabling Water Systems Fund and Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program – Housing Enabling Core Servicing Stream).

MMAH also partnered with other ministries to leverage surplus provincial lands for priority housing outcomes, such as building more new affordable housing and attainable ownership units. MMAH is working on leveraging surplus government and municipally identified lands and factory-built manufacturing where feasible.

On August 14, 2024, the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement (MPBSDP), in partnership with the MMAH announced the release of two voluntary data standards for planning and development applications. The first standard is on terminology and the second is on common fields in application forms. The release of these voluntary standards will help with data sharing and reporting across the province. These voluntary standards support the fulfilment of commitments made as part of the narrative for the More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022 to develop a provincial standard for planning and development applications.

On January 2, 2025, the ministry filed an amending regulation (O. Reg. 1/25) that modified Ontario Regulation 73/23: Municipal Planning Data Reporting regulation. This regulation now requires municipalities in Ontario to report information on planning matters to the ministry on a quarterly and annual basis. The amendments introduced new reporting requirements and extended these to additional municipalities. The amending regulation improves the quality of the information being collected by enabling municipalities to report on the status of various planning applications more accurately. The amending regulation includes a requirement for municipalities to prepare a summary table, which outlines key statistics for each quarterly report (e.g., total number of submissions, decisions).

In May 2024, the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction (MRTR), in partnership with MMAH, engaged with professional and technical experts to consider more ways to reduce red tape to support housing in Ontario, and to make recommendations on ways to standardize land use planning processes. The experts focused on land use planning bottlenecks, including zoning bylaws, complete applications, and digital modernization tools/platforms, resulting in an interim report published by MRTR’s Parliament Assistant.

Residential Tenancies

For market rental housing, the ministry announced it was holding the 2025 rent increase guideline at 2.5 per cent for the third consecutive year. The guideline is based on Ontario’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada using data that reflects economic conditions over the past year. When the CPI rises significantly, the guideline is capped at 2.5 per cent to help protect tenants from significant one-time increases.

The government made amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) under the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023, to make life easier for renters by strengthening tenant rights and protections. These changes are yet to be proclaimed. Once proclaimed, these changes would:

• clarify and enhance tenants’ right to install window or portable air conditioning units in their rental units
• require additional measures from landlords seeking to evict a tenant for the purpose of renovation double the maximum fines for offences under the RTA
• require use of the LTB’s plain language repayment agreement form in cases where tenants enter into this agreement due to rent arrears.

The ministry also provided ongoing public education and raised public awareness about key topics such as landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities under the RTA and the Commercial Tenancies Act. This was achieved through:

• responding to a high volume of correspondence and calls from landlords and tenants for assistance (i.e., received over 800 pieces of correspondence and responded directly to over 220 inquiries related to rental housing)
• making timely updates to webpages that inform tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities
• providing information sessions and webinars upon request by stakeholders and the public
• focusing efforts through the ministry’s Rental Housing Enforcement Unit on landlord/tenant rights and obligations, as well as offences under the RTA.

Building the homes that Ontarians need

Ontario is committed to building the homes that Ontarians need and has assigned the province’s 50 largest and fastest growing municipalities with housing targets to help meet this goal. To reward the creation of all types of housing supply, the ministry tracked the following five data sets against provincially assigned housing targets:

• housing starts, reported by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
• additional residential units (ARUs) reported by CMHC, new and redeveloped long-term care beds reported by the Ministry of Long-Term Care
• new postsecondary student housing beds, as recorded by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities
• new congregate retirement home suites, as recorded by the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority.

Accounting for all of the above housing types, 94,144^{footnote 3[3]} new homes were created in 2024.

Through the Building Faster Fund, over $280 million was awarded to qualifying municipalities against their 2023 targets to help build new homes and lay the groundwork for future growth in housing supply.

The ministry undertook a number of changes to the Planning Act and other legislation and policies in 2024–25 to support government priorities:

• The ministry released the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 on August 20, 2024, which came into effect on October 20, 2024. The Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 includes new and updated policies supporting increased intensification around transit, scoping protections for employment areas, and promoting a range and mix of housing options, including housing for students and seniors. The Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 incorporates feedback from three rounds of public consultation and Indigenous engagement, the last of which took place from April 10 to May 12, 2024.
• The government/ministry revoked the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2019 on October 20, 2024, the effective date of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024. On the same date, Amendment 4 to the Greenbelt Plan came into effect. This amendment maintains policy protections in the Greenbelt that rely on the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 and the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2019 for lands designated as Protected Countryside.
• Between August 20, 2024 and October 4, 2024, the ministry sought feedback on any planning matters that should be addressed through a transition regulation under the Planning Act for the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024. After considering the feedback and input received through this consultation, the Minister determined that no matters required transition for the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024. The decision was informed by, among other things, the objectives of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 and the alternative tools, policies and procedures at the disposal of planning authorities to address land use planning matters.
• As part of Bill 185, the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024, the government made a range of changes to the Planning Act intended to help create the policy and economic conditions across the province to facilitate the creation of more homes. The changes: reduce parking minimums, provide authority to enhance the framework for additional residential units, remove the Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator tool, create new “Use It or Lose It” tools, limit third party appeals for official plans, official plan amendments, zoning by-laws and zoning by-law amendments, remove fee refund requirements, modify pre-application provisions, allow appeals for certain applications for settlement area boundary expansions outside the Greenbelt, facilitate streamlined approvals for standardized housing designs, provide flexibility for implementing changes regarding upper-tier planning, provide authority to facilitate faster planning approvals for community service facility projects, and exempt university undertakings from the Planning Act.
• The ministry amended Ontario Regulation 299/19 under the Planning Act on November 20, 2024, to further facilitate the development of additional residential units (ARUs). The changes remove or update requirements for angular planes, maximum lot coverage, floor space index (FSI), minimum lot size, and minimum building distance separation related to ARUs on parcels of urban residential land. The changes help reduce or eliminate the need for planning applications for rezoning or minor variances (from the existing zoning).

Ontario’s Building Code

Since 2021, the ministry has continued drafting the new edition of Ontario’s Building Code. This included completion of the analysis of a multi-phase consultation.

In addition to receiving feedback through postings on the Regulatory Registry of Ontario and the Environmental Registry of Ontario, the ministry held engagement sessions with internal and external partners and stakeholders.

The new edition of Ontario’s Building Code received approval in March 2024 and was filed on April 10, 2024.

Since the filing of the new edition of the Building Code on April 10, 2024, three amendments were approved and filed (in May 2024, November 2024 and January 2025).The ministry produced several training products, all related to the new edition of the Building Code.

New edition of the Building Code training activities

In preparation for the full implementation of the new edition of the Building Code, which came into effect on January 1, 2025, the ministry carried out the following capacity building and training activities:

• Technical bulletins: In July, the ministry issued technical bulletins, distributed to 28,000 CodeNews users (an e-mail subscription service for the building sector).
• Online webinars: In August, the ministry delivered five, two-hour webinar sessions to explain the major changes within the new edition of the Building Code. Each session, which had a 1,000-person registration capacity, were all sold out for a total of 5,000 participants.
• Ongoing self-training: On September 10, 2024, the ministry also made webinar recordings and slide decks available online.
• Ministry roadshows: The ministry delivered eight in-person, full-day training sessions in various regions of the province to inform code users about the major changes in the new edition of the Building Code. These sessions took place in Clarington/Newcastle, Huntsville, Barrie, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Toronto, London, and Ottawa, with approximately 1,200 participants. In each session, participants had an opportunity to ask questions and engage with ministry technical staff about the Code changes.

Building Code Amendments

In 2024–25, the ministry filed a number of amendments to the Building Code.

On May 29, 2024, the ministry filed Ontario Regulation 203/24, which came into effect on January 1, 2025, making editorial corrections to the Building Code.

On November 4, 2024 the ministry filed Ontario Regulation 447/24, which came into effect on filing, to support housing supply and building innovation through changes to the Code such as:

• Introducing new technical provisions that permit Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction (EMTC) buildings to be constructed up to 18 storeys high. These provisions allow EMTC to be used as the main building material in more types of buildings, and that less of the mass timber needs to be covered with drywall. These changes foster innovation and expand the use of wood in construction.
• Moving administrative provisions from the 2012 Building Code into the new edition of the Building Code to continue to allow Temporary Health and Residential Facilities.

On January 16, 2025, the ministry filed Ontario Regulation 5/25 to create a process for the ministry to conduct equivalency assessment for building officials who have been certified in Manitoba, providing suitably qualified applicants with a pathway to practice in Ontario. The ministry also made additional housekeeping and clarifying amendments.

A new model for Municipal Intern Inspectors

In April 2022, the ministry amended Ontario Regulation 451/22 of the Code to help municipalities address labour supply shortages in the building sector. The ministry hosted a working group of municipal building officials in March 2023 to review and provide feedback on draft program guidelines designed to support municipalities in their work to design and administer internship programs. This support material was finalized and published in July 2023 on the Ontario.ca website for municipal building departments looking to establish their own programs and prospective interns seeking to enter one of the programs.

By March 2025, ten municipalities have adopted policies for the design and implementation of their own local internship programs under this new policy: the City of Brockville; the Municipality of Casselman; the Town of Laurentian Hills; the City of Markham; the Municipality of McDougall; the Township of North Dundas; the City of Ottawa; the City of Pickering; the Town of Renfrew; and the Township of South Stormont. The ministry continues to field inquiries from other municipalities interested in developing local capacity to recruit and retain qualified building officials through an intern inspector program. It also maintains an ongoing relationship with the Ontario Building Official’s Association to recognize and support their internship opportunities in local building departments.

Qualification & Registration program changes

In November and December 2024, the ministry proposed regulatory changes to support Ontario municipalities to recruit knowledgeable building officials from outside Ontario by eliminating labour mobility barriers, while protecting public health and safety. Following positive responses regarding the labour mobility changes, the ministry made regulatory changes in January 2025 to establish an equivalency assessment process for building officials. This provides a way to assess whether an applicant’s knowledge of Ontario’s Building Code is equivalent to the ministry’s technical exams administered by Humber Polytechnic.

Digital Building Code

The ministry developed a digital version of the 2012 Building Code Compendium that was first made available upon request on March 4, 2022. A digital Building Code Compendium offers an additional format for accessing code materials that may be more convenient for some users, including on a portable electronic device to conduct inspections of new houses and buildings on a construction site.

In January 2025, the ministry released its latest update of the digital version of the Code to include Building Code Amendments up to January 13, 2025.

In 2024–25, the ministry fulfilled a total of 24,521 digital version requests, representing an increase in demand of over 300 per cent from the previous fiscal year. By the end of 2024–25, the ministry had responded to a total of over 45,000 requests for digital copies of the Code since it was released in March 2022.

QuARTS improvements

In March 2024, the ministry successfully launched a modernized Qualification and Registration Tracking System (QuARTS), the IT system used by building practitioners (building officials, designers, design firms, septic installers and Registered Code Agencies) to register their qualifications with the ministry. QuARTS is used by over 9,000 building practitioners to update their qualification and registration information online, and to help the government regulate safety and compliance in Ontario’s building industry.

Modernizing QuARTS created a more efficient and user-friendly system for building practitioners and the public. The new location-based search makes it easier for all Ontarians looking to hire a qualified building practitioner in their area, optimized for use on mobile devices.

Over the course of 2024–2025, three major updates to QuARTS were made to continually respond to stakeholder feedback and customer satisfaction surveys to improve user experiences.

Special Priority Policy (SPP) Guide for Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) assistance

The Special Priority Policy (SPP) is a provincial policy under the Housing Services Act, 2011 that provides survivors of abuse and trafficking with priority access to rent geared-to-income (RGI) assistance.

In response to feedback on the need for improved understanding of the SPP and the experiences of survivors of abuse and trafficking, the ministry developed a guide to the SPP, in collaboration with inter-ministerial partners, and with input from service managers like municipalities who administer the policy, and sector stakeholders.

The ministry released the guide on March 5, 2024 to service managers, service providers who work with survivors, inter-ministerial partners, and broader sector stakeholders.

To support the uptake of the guide, the ministry hosted knowledge sharing sessions in Winter 2025 for service manager staff. The sessions were intended to improve understanding of the lived experiences of survivors and provide an opportunity for Service Managers to share knowledge about administering the SPP across the province.

Social housing mortgages

The Province became responsible for facilitating the mortgage renewals and tracking for the federal/provincial non-profit housing project mortgages in 2001 and acts as a liaison between the lender and the housing provider/agency. All time-limited mortgages under social housing programs will come to an end by 2033.

In 2024–25, the ministry continued to implement strategic modernizations and improvements on how the ministry administers social and supportive housing mortgages in Ontario. This included the upgrades to the Mortgage Administration database, validation of mortgage records, and information sessions across all regions for service managers and housing providers to support and build capacity in the sector related to mortgage administration.

Monthly service manager shelter and encampment data collection

Since January 2024, the ministry has continued to collect monthly information on shelter usage and capacity to be able to monitor demand and pressures in emergency shelter systems in all service manager areas. Summary data is collected monthly on temporary and permanent shelter capacity, the number of clients served, the number of clients who are asylum claimants, the number of clients living outside of the shelter system, and occasional related questions on topics such as winter shelter planning. In final year 2024–25, additional data collection was added for asylum claimants, to monitor additional pressures on the emergency shelters system throughout Ontario. More recently, the survey has also collected information on the number of people residing in encampments and the number of encampments across service manager areas.

By-Name list implementation

In March 2021, the ministry introduced a requirement for service managers to implement By-Name Lists by December 31, 2021. A By-Name List is a real-time list of people experiencing homelessness in a community that includes information about individuals’ needs to connect people to a range of housing options and supports and improve service coordination. As of January 1, 2022, all 47 service managers in Ontario had a By-Name List in place.

In April 2022, MMAH released new By-Name List requirements that built on the previous requirements and support the Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP) goals of addressing and reducing homelessness. The new requirements include a more extensive set of data points, and broader coverage and comprehensiveness that helps service managers connect more people to the services and supports they need. These new requirements were implemented by service managers by April 1, 2023. As a condition of HPP funding, service managers are required to maintain a By-Name List in accordance with provincial requirements. Ontario receives an aggregated subset of By-Name List information from each service manager annually through the HPP year-end reports.

Encampment response

In 2024, in collaboration with the Ministries of the Attorney General (MAG) and the Solicitor General (SOLGEN), MMAH supported the development of a legislative and operational approach to addressing encampments. To support the legislative framework, the Ministry invested up to $75.5 million to provide more long-term stable housing and temporary accommodations for those living in encampments.

Inter-Ministry collaboration on supportive housing

Throughout 2024, the ministry continued collaboration with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and the Ministry of Health to explore and advance current initiatives to improve the supportive housing system in Ontario. Supportive housing combines long-term housing assistance, such as rent supplements and housing allowances, with individualized, flexible, and ongoing support services (e.g., counselling, life skills training, activities of daily living, behaviour supports) to help people live as independently as possible in their communities.

Policy Development Engagements for the National Housing Strategy Action Plan

In August 2024, MMAH held five stakeholder engagement sessions with Service Managers (SMs) to discuss how best to meet the National Housing Strategy target of expanding rent-assisted units by 19,660 by March 31, 2028. Inputs from these sessions informed Ontario’s third and final Action Plan.

Municipal and Housing Operations

Community Housing Operations

On March 13, 2025, the ministry received federal approval of Ontario’s final three-year National Housing Strategy (NHS) Action Plan. Approval of the plan secures approximately $1.5 billion in federal funding over three years (2025–26 to 2027–28) which the ministry will use to administer Ontario’s three NHS housing programs:

• Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI)
• Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI)
• Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB)

Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB)

The COHB is a nine-year joint federal-provincial housing allowance program that increases the affordability of rental housing by providing an income-tested, portable housing benefit directly to eligible households in housing need that are on, or are eligible to be on, social housing waiting lists. As of March 2025, over 32,000 households have been approved for monthly housing benefits under the COHB program since April 1, 2020.

In May 2024, the province finalized the terms of the Enhancement Agreement. The agreement formalized $97.3M in federal funding under the COHB Survivors of Gender-based Violence stream (and provincial cost matching) from 2023–24 to 2028–29 which includes $14.7 million that flowed in 2024–25. In September 2024–25 $43 million was flowed to Service Managers to onboard up to 5,900 households.

In December 2024, as part of the Encampment Response initiative, the province invested up to $75.5 million for homelessness programs to create more emergency shelter spaces and affordable housing units to provide vulnerable Ontarians with appropriate short and long-term alternatives for encampments. As part of this funding, $5.5 million was allocated to top-up COHB to free up emergency shelter spaces for people living in encampments by helping people living in shelters move into longer-term housing.

Improving access for survivors of abuse and trafficking

Previously, all applicants who accepted a portable housing subsidy under the COHB program had to be removed from the waiting list for Rent Geared to Income (RGI) assistance. In September 2024, the Ministry issued a waiver, which means that Service Managers are no longer required to remove Special Priority Policy (SPP) household from the RGI housing waiting list when they accept the COHB (the SPP prioritizes survivors of abuse and trafficking for RGI assistance under the Housing Services Act, 2011).

A significant number of SPP applicants were declining COHB offers and choosing to remain on the RGI waiting list, which increased their risk of continuing to live in a dangerous situation. The waiver will help remove barriers that may have prevented survivors of abuse and trafficking from accepting the COHB.

Investments provided to service managers and Indigenous Housing Providers

In 2024–25, the ministry provided approximately $216.5 million in capital and operating investments to community housing through Service Managers and Indigenous Housing Administrators under the Canada-Ontario Social Housing Agreement, and ongoing affordability payments under the Affordable Housing Program.

The ministry also provided approximately $472.0 million in capital and operating funding to Service Managers and Indigenous Program Administrators under the National Housing Strategy programs.

To support the continuation of the Rural and Urban Indigenous Housing Program, the ministry conducted a program review in 2024–25, with the review process co-developed with OAHS.

Homelessness operations

In 2024–25, the government provided $75.5 million to create more emergency shelter spaces and affordable housing units to provide vulnerable Ontarians with appropriate short and long-term alternatives for encampments, including:

• $50 million for ready-to-build affordable housing projects, allocated based on how close a project is to completion and its value for money, to help projects near completion, but in need of additional targeted funding, open their doors faster.
• $20 million to expand shelter capacity and create additional temporary accommodation spaces.
• $5.5 million to top-up the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) to free-up approximately 1,000 emergency shelter spaces for people living in encampments by helping people living in shelters move into longer-term housing.

Municipal governance

In 2024–25, the ministry continued to build strong relationships with municipalities through ongoing direct outreach to municipal clients and through participation in ministry-led forums and stakeholder-led conferences. For further details on the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and Rural Ontario Municipal Association conferences, please refer to page 52.

In April 2024, to support the Township of Black River-Matheson council and the community following council’s failure to meet for a period of 60 days due to lack of quorum, the Minister exercised authority under sectio 266 of the Municipal Act, 2001, to declare all council seats vacant, order a by-election and appoint an individual to serve as council until the by-election could be held. This resulted in improved governance, accountability and transparency, and a new council willing to work cohesively to make decisions in the best interests of the community.

Ministry staff also provided strategic input to 584 grant funding applications across six funding programs administered by three partner ministries (MEDJCT,MOI, SPORT) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. This included 441 applications under the government’s Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program.

Land use planning operations

Throughout 2024–25, the ministry worked with inter-ministerial partners and municipalities to implement and uphold matters of provincial interest and provincial land use planning policy, including the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 and major provincial land use plans — the Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan.

The ministry led the province’s One Window Planning Service, which provides for provincial input, review, approval and appeal of planning applications. The One Window approach provides a single provincial process that integrates the perspective of multiple ministries with land use planning interests into MMAH’s decisions on land use planning applications and into appeals before the Ontario Land Tribunal. Official plans and official plan amendments are important instruments that provide for development to meet the future housing, employment, and local services needs of Ontarians. In 2024–25, the ministry issued approvals for 21 official plans and official plan amendments and seven Parkway Belt West Plan amendments. In addition, the ministry filed ten appeals of municipal decisions with the Ontario Land Tribunal to protect provincial interests.

This past year, the ministry supported the making of 15 Minister’s Zoning Orders and two Minister’s Zoning Order amendments to accelerate critical priority projects that will enable more long-term care beds, increase the availability of housing, including providing supportive and affordable housing options, and facilitate economic development opportunities and the creation of new jobs for Ontarians in the industrial and manufacturing sector. Eight MZOs were revoked and one was amended due to limited progress being made towards the completion of the proposed development enabled by these MZOs.

In 2024–25, the ministry supported implementation of the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024 (PPS) by developing and launching an on-demand training platform featuring 30 training videos covering all aspects of the PPS. A total of 1,400 municipal clients from across Ontario registered to access the site, which has had over 13,500 visits.

Disaster Recovery Financial Assistance

Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians Program

The Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program helps homeowners, tenants, small owner-operated businesses and farms, and not-for-profit organizations get back on their feet after a natural disaster. The program helps eligible applicants cover emergency expenses, return their homes to a safe and habitable condition and get small businesses up and running again.

In 2024–25, the program was activated three times for floods:

• Timiskaming District, April 2024 (parts of Kirkland Lake, McGarry, and Chamberlain)
• Greater Toronto Area, July/August 2024 (parts of Burlington, Mississauga, Halton Hills and Toronto)
• Burlington, July 2024 (additional areas in Burlington)

In 2024–25, the ministry administered applications from these three activations and 8 previous disaster events. In total, the ministry issued over 260 decisions to applicants, including interim payments, final payments and decline notices; made payments totalling about $1.5 million to eligible applicants; and closed over 185 applications.

Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance Program

The Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance (MDRA) program provides financial assistance to municipalities affected by natural disasters for emergency response and repair or replacement of damaged municipal infrastructure. There were no new activations in 2024–25. The ministry made payments totalling over $6.1 million to reimburse municipalities for eligible costs for twelve previous disaster events.

Ministry Emergency Management Program

Under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, all ministries are required to maintain an emergency management program to ensure the Ontario government is ready to respond when emergencies and disasters occur. The ministry maintains a strong program focused on the ministry’s Order-in-Council responsibility to plan for emergencies that require coordination of extraordinary provincial expenditures, including provision of disaster financial assistance.

In 2024–25, ministry staff updated the Ministry Emergency Response Plan with a new Foreign Animal Disease appendix based on lessons learned from an exercise on this topic conducted in 2023 and additional content to reflect the new Provincial Emergency Management Strategy and Action Plan and better support the province’s vision for a safe, practiced and prepared Ontario. The ministry completed all legislated requirements for the 2024 calendar year and expects its program to be assessed as fully compliant with the provincial legislation.

Local Government

Strengthen relationships across governments

In 2024–25, the ministry coordinated 1,294 meetings across the two conferences. In 2024–25, the ministry continued to work closely with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the City of Toronto. As per the joint Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the ministry engaged with AMO on initiatives that impacted municipalities. In the past year of reporting, ten formal meetings were held with AMO under the MOU. During the in-person AMO Conference in 2024, the ministry co-ordinated nearly 670 delegation meetings. The ministry co-ordinated another 574 municipal delegations and two multi-ministry meetings at the Rural Ontario Municipal Conference in January 2025. MMAH also facilitated 23 meetings between the province and the City of Toronto to discuss initiatives with potential impacts to the city under the Toronto-Ontario Cooperation and Consultation Agreement (TOCCA). The meetings at the AMO and Rural Ontario Municipal Association conferences provided an important opportunity for direct engagement between municipal elected officials and provincial ministers and parliamentary assistants.

The ministry played a key role in implementing two new deals with Ontario’s largest municipalities - the cities of Toronto and Ottawa – to respond to local financial challenges. The new deal for Toronto commits significant provincial operating and capital funding to support the city’s pressure points: $1.2 billion for operating pressures, including up to $600 million over three years to address homelessness shelter deficits and longer-term capital funding plus the upload of municipally owned highways. The Ontario-Ottawa agreement commits up to $543 million in operating and capital funding tailored to fuel Ottawa’s economic recovery and accelerate revitalization of the downtown core.

In 2024–25, the ministry engaged its municipal and industry technical advisory tables on municipal development-related charges, consisting of experts in municipal finance, land-use planning, housing development, law and other related fields. The ministry consults with these tables, and through the AMO-MOU and TOCCA agreements, to inform changes to the municipal development charges-related framework. These consultations informed the Affordable Residential Units for the Purposes of the Development Charges Act, 1997 Minister’s Bulletin which was made effective on June 1, 2024. The data in this bulletin sets out the market-based (i.e., average purchase prices and market rents) and income-based thresholds that are to be used to determine the eligibility of a residential unit for an exemption from development charges and exclusions from the maximum community benefits charge and parkland dedication requirements. Consultation advice also helped inform the government’s decision to bring into force a section of the Planning Act and to make a regulation that enables the wider use of pay-on-demand surety bonds for local infrastructure service agreements, as of November 20, 2024. This decision directly addresses a recommendation by the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force to provide the option of pay-on-demand surety bonds to secure development obligations.

To support the province in attracting investment to Ontario, the ministry made amendments to the Municipal Act, 2001 and City of Toronto Act, 2006 to streamline the province’s process for authorizing municipalities to grant assistance to businesses, if the government believes it is necessary or desirable. Under this authority, the Lieutenant Governor in Council (LGIC) made a regulation under the Municipal Act, 2001 to help secure a significant investment by a major auto manufacturer in Town of New Tecumseth.

The ministry updated its main financial and statistical information data collection tool for municipalities, the Financial Information Return (FIR), to improve data quality and consistency in reporting. The ministry also assessed municipal financial health, to guide discussions and training programs for municipalities, using ministry-calculated financial indicators and financial profiles derived from data from the Financial Information Return (FIR) submitted by all 444 municipalities. These updates supported the submission of accurate data by municipalities, the relevancy and usability of data..

The province appointed a third-party advisor to undertake a governance review of the Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS), the first review since 2012, to ensure that its governance model is serving the interests of plan members in a fair, equitable, and transparent manner that supports the plan's long-term financial sustainability.

Previously in 2023–24, the ministry expanded, beyond the Cities of Toronto and Ottawa, the strong mayor framework to 44 additional municipalities that committed to their provincially assigned housing targets. This expansion gave those mayors additional powers and duties to move forward on shared provincial-municipal priorities related to accelerating housing supply and housing-enabling infrastructure and in 2024–25, the ministry continued to support the strong mayor framework implementation in 46 municipalities.

The ministry introduced the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, 2024, which ended the dissolution of Peel Region and recalibrated the Peel Transition Board’s mandate to providing recommendations on transferring four housing-enabling public works services from Peel Region: land use planning, water and wastewater, regional roads (including stormwater) and waste management. The ministry supported the transition board in fulfilling its mandate and analyzed the transition board’s recommendations with partner ministries to inform government decision-making.

In December 2024, the government introduced Bill 240, the Peel Transition Implementation Act, 2024, which proposed to transfer regional roads and associated stormwater infrastructure from the Region of Peel to Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon; plus waste collection services (and two community recycling centres located in Mississauga) from Peel to Mississauga, effective July 1, 2026. The Bill did not proceed prior to the writs of the provincial election being issued.

In December 2024, the government introduced Bill 241, the Municipal Accountability Act 2024, which proposed to enable the creation of a standard municipal code of conduct, standard integrity commissioner processes, create a role for the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario in municipal code of conduct matters and establish a mechanism to remove and disqualify members of council and certain local boards for a period of four years for serious code of conduct violations. The Bill did not proceed prior to the writs of the provincial election being issued.

The ministry also supported the government’s ongoing participation in the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy’s Regional Governance Study. The Committee held eight public hearings across seven two-tier municipalities between November 2023 and July 2024 to understand local views and proposals related to local governance structures and service delivery.

The ministry proposed legislative and regulatory amendments and provided strategic advice on municipal impacts to support provincial priorities across government, This included amendments to the City of Hamilton Act to support MOH’s restructuring of the City of Hamilton’s Board of Health, and engaging with MTO on Bill 212, Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024. Over spring and summer 2024, the ministry worked with the federal government to revise NHS reporting structures to better track progress against its NHS targets. This work helped to secure federal approval of Ontario’s second three-year NHS Action Plan (2022–23 to 2024–2025) and the reprofiling of $357.3M in at-risk federal funding from 2023–24 to 2024–25. For more details on this funding, please refer to page 52.

2024–25 Results

Notes:

• Interim actuals reflect the numbers presented in the 2025 Budget.
• Ontario Public Service Full-Time Equivalent positions.